The original poster.
Woodstock is one of those points in history that defined a zeitgeist. It was peaceful, drugged-up, loaded with a new type of kid out to make changes in the world, populated by a whole group of musicians redefining the market, and it worked. Thousands of people were there, and took their stories home to those who weren't, passed them on to their children long after the fact. And it was filmed, documented and documentaried, which further defined what it was and how it was assimilated into our culture.
And this weekend, it turns 40.
Even ignoring how the more recent revivals have basically tried to butcher what it was, the images and the memory of Woodstock 1969 live on, and with the current revival of the 70s in fashion and opinion, it's sure to keep doing so. This weekend, the world celebrates with a movie in the theaters (Taking Woodstock), and a number of television treatments of the event. Whether you were there and want to relive the show, or heard about it from someone who was, or went through the prerequisite hippie phase in high school or college, or are just curious about what happened and how, be sure to check out the subject this week.
Most notable is the documentary Woodstock: Now and Then, the latest documentary from Barbara Kopple, (the same woman who brought us previous Woodstock films Woodstock 94 and My Generation) that aired first on VH1 this past Friday and will air Monday at 8pm and Tuesday at midnight on the History Channel before returning to VH1 on Thursday at midnight. Described thusly: "The 40th anniversary of the three-day long musical festival that has come to symbolize the 1960s and the baby-boomer generation is marked by a retrospective that recalls the event from the perspectives of the performers, fans and promoters; and examines the planning and logistical problems presented."-- it honestly and lovingly celebrates the experience and what it has meant for a whole culture who came after it, not just the people who lived it first hand. I talks about the people who made the show possible and how they did it, the logistics issues they had and what happened, the shows themselves and the rock stars that played them, the culture it cemented and the people who were there, the musicians now who are still influenced by what it was, and the lasting impact of the event on modern culture.
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